Portable Terminal and Method for Remote Control of Electronic Products

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method for remote control of electronic products using a portable terminal. The portable terminal performs a remote control function in the remote control mode. When communication is tried during the remote control mode, the portable terminal terminates the remote control mode and displays the communication state to provide a communication service upon a user&#39;s selection. When the communication ends, the portable terminal returns to the remote control mode.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application SerialNo. 2003-39421 entitled “Portable Terminal and Method for Remote Controlof Electronic Products” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Officeon Jun. 18, 2003, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/681,107, filedOct. 9, 2003, the content of both of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a remotecontrol function, and more particularly to a portable terminal having aremote control function and a method for remote control of electronicproducts using the portable terminal

2. Description of the Related Art

As generally known in the art, a remote controller refers to a devicefor controlling an instrument or a machine from a distance. Manycurrently available electronic products are provided with a remotecontroller. A user can control various functions of an electronicproduct using a remote controller from a distance, without the need todirectly operate the product. In most cases, however, different remotecontrollers are used to control different kinds of electronic productsor the same kinds of electronic products of different manufacturers. Inother words, the user can control only a single product using one remotecontroller. Different remote controllers should be used according to thekinds of electronic products, such as an audio system and a videosystem, and the manufacturers of the products. Accordingly, when aremote controller for a particular electronic product of a particularmanufacturer has been lost, the user typically must purchase a newremote controller for the same product. Also, users can beinconvenienced when urgently seeking a lost remote controller foroperating a particular electronic product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve theabove-mentioned problems. One object of the present invention is toprovide a portable terminal and a method for remote control ofelectronic products, regardless of the kinds or manufacturers of theproducts. Another object of the present invention is to provide a methodfor enabling communication during the remote control of electronicproducts using a portable terminal.

In order to accomplish the above objects, embodiments of the presentinvention provide a method for remote control of electronic productsusing a portable terminal, said method comprising the steps ofperforming a remote control of functions of the electronic products in aremote control mode; when communication is tried during the remotecontrol mode, terminating the remote control mode and displaying thecommunication standby state to provide a communication service upon auser's selection; and when the communication ends, returning to theremote control mode.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for performing a remote control in a remote controlmode of a portable terminal, said method comprising the steps ofdisplaying the kinds of electronic products controllable by a remotecontroller; displaying the manufacturers of the electronic products;selecting at least one kind of the displayed electronic products;selecting at least one of the displayed manufacturers; setting a remotecontrol mode suitable for the selected electronic product of theselected manufacturer; performing a remote control function in theremote control mode; and terminating the remote control mode toterminate the remote control function.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a portable terminal for remote control of various functionsof electronic products, which comprises a display section for displayingthe kinds and manufacturers of electronic products controllable by aremote controller; a generalized programming input/output port foroscillating a remote control pulse according to a selected manufacturer;an infrared (IR) modulating/sending section for modulating theoscillated remote control pulse to an infrared ray and sending theinfrared ray; and a control section for determining whethercommunication is tried during implementation of a remote controlfunction, terminating the remote control function to implement acommunication function when the communication is initiated, andperforming the remote control function again when the communicationends.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable terminal having a remote controlfunction according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process of performing a remote controlfunction in a portable terminal according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 shows the information displayed on a display section of aportable terminal according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process of performing a remote controlfunction in a portable terminal according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of a control section of aportable terminal to perform a communication function during a remotecontrol mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows the function of a key input section of a portable terminalaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawing figures. In thefollowing description of embodiments of the present invention, adetailed description of known functions and configurations incorporatedherein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of thepresent invention rather unclear.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable terminal having a remote controlfunction according to the first embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 1, an RF section 110 performs a communication functionof a portable terminal The RF section 110 comprises an RF transmitterfor performing upward conversion and amplification of the frequency of asignal, which is being transmitted, and an RF receiver for amplifying asignal, which is being received, with low noise and performing downwardconversion of the frequency of the signal. A data processing section 109comprises a transmitter for coding and modulating a signal which isbeing transmitted and a receiver for demodulating and decoding a signalwhich is being received. The data processing section 109 may be composedof a modem and a codec.

An audio processing section 107 reproduces an audio signal outputtedfrom the data processing section 109 or transmits an audio signalgenerated from a microphone to the data processing section 109. A keyinput section 103 is provided with keys for inputting numbers andcharacters and function keys for setting up various functions.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the functions keysmay refer to a remote controller setting key, a product setting key, aproduct selection key, a manufacturer setting key, a manufacturerselection key, an OK key, a cancel key and so on. The functions keys mayinclude a navigation key for moving a cursor on the display, a selectionkey, an OK key for confirmation, a cancel key for cancellation, and soon. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, it ispossible to implement a particular function by pressing a combination oftwo or more function keys.

A memory 105 may be composed of a program memory and a data memory. Theprogram memory includes programs for controlling general operations ofthe portable terminal. The data memory stores information for performinga remote control function according to embodiments of the presentinvention. Also, the data memory can temporarily store data generatedduring implementation of the above programs.

A control section 111 controls the overall operation of the portableterminal. As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art,the control section 111 may optionally include the data processingsection 109. The control section 111 may also include a generalizedprogramming input/output port (“GPIO port”). The GPIO port generates afrequency, for example, in the range of 30 KHz to 60 KHz. When providedoutside of the control section 111, the GPIO port can be connected to aninside element of the portable terminal The GPIO port oscillates aremote control pulse suitable for the selected kind and manufacturer ofelectronic product in accordance with a key signal inputted from the keyinput section 103. An IR modulating/sending section 120 modulates theremote control pulse oscillated by the GPIO port to an infrared ray andtransmits the infrared ray from the portable terminal (preferably to theelectronic product to be remote-controlled). The process of modulating aremote control pulse to an infrared ray can be performed at the controlsection 111. A display section 101, which may comprises a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), displays information relating to the remote control modeunder the control of the control section 111.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process of performing a remote controlfunction in a portable terminal according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 3 shows the information displayed on a displaysection of a portable terminal according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 6 shows the function of a key input section of aportable terminal according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. Hereinafter, the remote control mode and function accordingto embodiments of the present invention will be explained with referenceto FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6.

At step 201, the control section 111 determines whether the portableterminal is in a remote control mode. If the portable terminal is in theremote control mode, the control section 111 will proceed with step 205.Otherwise, the control section 111 will maintain the initial state ofthe portable terminal. The remote control mode is a mode forimplementing functions required for remote control, for example, aremote controller setting suitable for a selected electronic product ofa selected manufacturer, a remote control implementation and a remotecontrol termination.

At step 205, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for setting theremote controller is inputted, the control section 111 will proceed withstep 207. Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step 227.At step 207, the control section 111 converts the portable terminal to aremote controller setting mode and controls the display section 101 todisplay the remote controller setting mode. The display section 101 candisplay the remote controller setting mode as shown in FIG. 3( a).

At step 209, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for productsetting is inputted, the control section 111 will proceed with step 211.Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step 219. At step211, the control section 111 controls the display section 103 to displaythe kinds of electronic products controllable by a remote controller andproceeds with step 213. As shown in FIG. 3( b), the display section 103can display various kinds of electronic products, including televisions(TV), cable televisions (CATV), video cassette recorders (VCR), audiosystems, radios and others which can be any kind of electronic productscontrollable by a remote controller, including air conditioners andrefrigerators.

At step 213, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for productselection is inputted, the control section will set a kind of electronicproduct as selected by the user at step 215 and will proceed with step217. Otherwise, the control section will repeat step 211.

At step 219, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for setting themanufacturer is inputted, the control section 111 will control thedisplay section 101 to display the manufacturers at step 221 and willproceed with step 223. The display section 101 can display themanufacturers as shown in FIG. 3( c). If no key signal for manufacturersetting is inputted, the control section 111 will repeat step 207.

At step 223, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal formanufacturer selection is inputted, the control section will set amanufacturer as selected by the user at step 225 and will proceed withstep 217. Otherwise, the control section 111 will repeat step 221.

At step 217, the control section 111 establishes a remote controllersetting suitable for the selected electronic product of the selectedmanufacturer and repeats step 201. Generally, a remote controllercontrols an electronic product from a distance by generating a signal.For the remote control, the remote controller uses a frequency and aremote control pulse, both varying depending on the kinds andmanufacturers of electronic products. Accordingly, a suitable remotecontroller setting means a suitable remote control mode which conformsto the properties of a selected electronic product of a selectedmanufacturer.

At step 227, the control section 111 determines whether the remotecontrol mode has been terminated. If so, the control section 111 willproceed with step 229 to terminate the remote control function foroperating a remote controller. If the remote control mode is maintained,the control section 111 will proceed with step 241. At step 241, thecontrol section 111 determines whether the user still uses the remotecontrol function. If so, the control section 111 will proceed with step243 to implement a function according to the established remotecontroller setting. Otherwise, the control section 111 will repeat step201.

In the process of implementing a function according to the establishedremote controller setting, the control section 111 receives a key signalfrom the key input section 103. The preferred structure of the key inputsection 103 can be displayed as shown in FIG. 6( a), 6(b) or 6(c).Referring to FIG. 6, the remote controller setting varies depending onthe kinds of electronic products, such as a TV/CATV, a VCR and anaudio/radio. For example, the user can use the navigation key forselecting a channel and adjusting a volume in a VCR as shown in FIG. 6(b). Also, the number keys can be pressed to operate the VCR. Forexample, number keys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be used to perform rewind,play, fast-forward, pause and record functions, respectively. Thecontrol section 111 generates a frequency (for example, 30 to 60 KHz)and a remote control pulse using the GPIO port and transfers them to theIR modulating/sending section 120. The frequency and the remote controlpulse may vary depending on the kinds and manufacturers of electronicproducts. Also, the control section 111 controls the IRmodulating/sending section 120 to generate an infrared wavelength basedon the frequency and the remote control pulse. The infrared wavelengthis outputted to the electronic products of the selected manufacturer.For example, the infrared wavelength can be 940 nm The electronicproducts of the manufacturer selected at the remote controller settingoperate upon receiving the infrared wavelength.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process of performing a remote controlfunction in a portable terminal according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. Hereinafter, the remote control mode and functionaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention will beexplained with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

At step 401, the control section 111 determines whether the portableterminal is in the remote control mode. If the portable terminal is inthe remote control mode, the control section 111 will proceed with step405. Otherwise, the control section 111 will maintain the initial stateof the portable terminal. The remote control mode is a mode forimplementing functions required for remote control, for example, aremote controller setting suitable for a selected electronic product ofa selected manufacturer, a remote control implementation and a remotecontrol termination.

At step 403, the display section 101 is controlled to display a remotecontrol mode. Next, step 405 is implemented.

At step 405, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for remotecontroller setting is inputted, the control section 111 will proceedwith step 407. Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step427. At step 407, the control section 111 controls the display section101 to display the kinds of electronic products controllable by a remotecontroller and proceeds with step 409. The display section 103 candisplay the kinds of electronic products as shown in FIG. 3( d).

At step 409, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for productselection is inputted, the control section will proceed with step 411.Otherwise, the control section will repeat step 407. At step 411, thecontrol section 111 controls the display section 101 to display themanufacturers and proceeds with step 413. The display section 101 candisplay the manufacturers as shown in FIG. 3( e).

At step 413, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal formanufacturer selection is inputted, the control section will proceedwith step 415. Otherwise, the control section 111 will repeat step 411.The control section 111 controls the display section 101 to display theselected product and manufacturer at step 415 and proceeds with step417. For example, when the user wishes to use the remote controlfunction of the portable terminal to watch TV, he or she should selectfirst “TV” from the displayed kinds of electronic products and then themanufacturer of the TV to be remote controlled.

At step 417, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal forconfirmation is inputted, the control section 111 will proceed with step419. Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step 421. Thecontrol section 111 sets a remote control condition suitable for theselected electronic product of the selected manufacturer at step 419 andrepeats step 401. To be specific, when a particular kind of electronicproduct is selected among a plurality of electronic productscontrollable by a remote controller and then a manufacturer of theselected electronic product is selected, the control section 111 sets aremote control condition which conforms to the properties of theselected electronic product of the selected manufacturer. Morespecifically, a frequency, a remote control pulse and so on are set toconform to the properties of the selected electronic product of theselected manufacturer.

At step 421, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal forcancellation is inputted, the control section 111 will proceed with step423. Otherwise, the control section 111 will repeat step 415. Also, ifno key signal for cancellation or confirmation is inputted during apredetermined period of time, for example, within a minute, the controlsection 111 will terminate the remote control mode. At step 423, thecontrol section 111 controls the display section 101 to display amessage informing termination of the remote control mode and proceedswith step 425.

At step 425, the control section 111 determines whether a key signal isinputted from the key input section 103. If a key signal for terminationis inputted, the control section 111 will repeat step 401 to allow theuser to select another kind or manufacturer of electronic products. Ifno key signal for termination is inputted, the control section 111 willrepeat step 407.

At step 427, the control section 111 determines whether the remotecontrol mode has been terminated. If the remote control mode has beenterminated, the control section 111 will proceed with step 429 to stopthe remote control function for operating a remote controller.Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step 441. At step441, the control section 111 determines whether the user still uses theremote control function. If not, the control section 111 will repeatstep 401. If the remote control function is still used, the controlsection 111 will proceed with step 443 to implement a function accordingto the established remote controller setting, which is similar to step243 in the process shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of a control section of aportable terminal to perform a communication function during the remotecontrol mode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.The operation of the control section 111 will be described in detailwith reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.

At step 501, the control section 111 determines whether the portableterminal is in a remote control mode. If the portable terminal is in theremote control mode, the control section 111 will proceed with step 503.Otherwise, the control section 111 will proceed with step 502 toimplement a required function other than the remote control function.For example, the required function may relate to a voice communication,a text message service and a short message service. At step 503, thecontrol section 111 implements the remote control function. The remotecontrol mode is an operation mode of the portable terminal. The controlsection 111 can perform operations in the remote control mode as shownin FIG. 2 or FIG. 4.

At step 505, the control section 111 determines whether communication isinitiated during the remote control mode. If communication is initiated,the control section 111 will terminate the remote control function andwill proceed with step 507. Otherwise, the control section 111 willrepeat step 503 to implement the remote control function. Althoughtermination of the remote control function to initiate communication isdescribed herein, it will be understood that the remote control functioncan be terminated to implement any other function. At step 507, thecontrol section 111 determines whether the communication relates to anoutgoing call. If so, the control section 111 will proceed with step 509to perform an outgoing call service. If not, the control section 111will proceed with step 511. A communication relating to an outgoingcall, which means a call initiated by the user, refers to making a callor sending a text or voice message. Also, the outgoing call servicerefers to a service for performing communication relating to an outgoingcall. At step 511, the control section 111 determines whether thecommunication relates to an incoming call. If so, the control section111 will perform an incoming call service at step 513 and will proceedwith step 515. A communication relating to an incoming call refers toanswering a call or receiving a text or voice message. If thecommunication does not relate to an incoming call, the control section111 will recognize the initiated communication as an error at step 521and will proceed with step 517. An error is unexpected communicationwhich is neither an outgoing call nor an incoming call.

At step 515, the control section 111 determines whether thecommunication ends. If so, the control section 111 will proceed withstep 517. If not, the control section 111 will repeat step 505. At step517, the control section 111 determines whether the remote control modehas been terminated. If so, the control section 111 will terminate theremote control function. If the remote control mode is maintained, thecontrol section 111 will repeat step 503.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various modifications, additions andsubstitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for remote control of electronic products using a portable terminal, which comprises the steps of: 1) performing a remote control mode for establishing a remote controller setting suitable for a plurality of electronic product; 2) converting the portable terminal to a remote control setting mode; 3) selecting one of the plurality of electronic products controllable by a remote control mode; 4) selecting one of manufactures controllable by the remote control mode; 5) displaying the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer; and 6) establishing a suitable remote controller setting for the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer, wherein the suitable remote controller setting conforms properties of the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer.
 2. The method according to the claim 1, further comprising the steps of: repeating the 3)-5) steps until the remote control setting mode is terminated.
 3. The method according to the claim 1, wherein the electronic products include at least one of video cassette recorders (VCR), television (TV), cable television (CATV), audio systems and radios.
 4. The method according to the claim 1, wherein the step of 3) comprises the steps of: 3-1) selecting one of the plurality of electronic products controllable by a remote control mode; and 3-2) displaying a plurality of manufactures of the selected electronic products.
 5. The method according to the claim 1, further comprising the steps of: determining whether the remote control setting mode has been terminated; and implementing a remote control function according to the suitable remote controller setting when the remote control setting mode has been terminated.
 6. A portable terminal for remote control of electronic products, which comprises: a display section; a generalized programming input/output port for oscillating a remote control pulse according to a selected manufacturer; an infrared (IR) modulating/sending section for modulating the oscillated remote control pulse to an infrared ray and sending the infrared ray; and a control section is adapted to, perform a remote control mode for establishing a remote controller setting suitable for a plurality of electronic product, convert to a remote control setting mode, select one of the plurality of electronic products controllable by a remote control mode, select one of manufactures controllable by the remote control mode, display the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer and establish a suitable remote controller setting for the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer, wherein the suitable remote controller setting conforms properties of the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer.
 7. The apparatus according to the claim 6, wherein the control section is adapted to repeat the selecting the electronic products and one of manufactures and displaying the selected electronic product and the selected manufacturer until the remote control setting mode is terminated.
 8. The apparatus according to the claim 6, wherein the electronic products include at least one of video cassette recorders (VCR), television (TV), cable television (CATV), audio systems and radios.
 9. The apparatus according to the claim 6, wherein the control section is adapted to select one of the plurality of electronic products controllable by a remote control mode and display a plurality of manufactures of the selected electronic products.
 10. The apparatus according to the claim 6, wherein the control section is adapted to determine whether the remote control setting mode has been terminated and implement a remote control function according to the suitable remote controller setting when the remote control setting mode has been terminated. 